Apple has started production of the new smaller 3 nanometer chips. This could mean that we will see the first chips in the iPhone 2023 or in the Mac.
Major upgrade for iPhone and Mac in 2023
Apple has been planning to switch to the 3nm chip for some time, and it is now expected that it will happen with the iPhone and Mac in 2023. This will probably not happen with the iPhone 14 yet, because according to the latest rumored to be a less powerful chip than expected.
![iPhone and Mac will receive a major chip upgrade in 2023 iPhone and Mac will receive a major chip upgrade in 2023](https://www.iphoned.nl/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/iphone-14-lightning.jpg)
It is important to know that these plans can still change. The move to 3 nanometer production was rumored to have been quite challenging for TSMC, the chip maker. So it may very well be possible that we will have to wait a little longer to see the first 3nm products. Hopefully this is not the case and we will see the first iPhone and Mac with a 3nm chip (with a significant performance boost) already appearing at the end of 2023.
Small, smaller, smallest: from 5 to 3 nanometers
The M1, M1 Pro and the M1 Max chips are all made using the 5 nanometer process. The A15 processor in the iPhone 13 is also manufactured with this. The previous generation used the 7nm process. A little succinctly: the smaller the manufacturing process, the faster and more energy-efficient a chip becomes.
![iPhone 13 A15 difference](https://www.iphoned.nl/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/a15-iphone-13.jpg)
The relationship between TSMC and Apple
Apple is always trying to put state of the art chips in its phones and computers. For this, the company works together with the Taiwanese chip maker TSMC. How modern (i.e. powerful and energy-efficient) a processor is is mainly determined by the manufacturing process.
Apple is the largest customer of Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC and is expected to remain so. In particular, Intel’s transition to proprietary processors in the Mac and iPhone 13 has resulted in significant orders from TSMC.
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